Drifting Towards War: The British Chiefs of Staff, the USSR and the Winter War, November 1939–March 1940

Abstract

This article examines the attitude of the Chiefs of Staff committee towards the Russo-Finnish war of November 1939 to March 1940, and the effect that their attitude had on British strategy towards Scandinavia and the USSR during the early months of the Second World War. It argues that the Chiefs and the War Cabinet were in agreement until December 1939, after which their opinions diverged and the Chief's advice to the government became more erratic and reckless. It concludes that the Chiefs failed in their primary duty to provide clear advice to the War Cabinet and that British policy in Scandinavia could have led to disaster.